The common good is pretty easy to define at a theme park, it is getting the average attractions per guest per hour as high (as close to 2) as possible. Ignoring that Disney and most operators offer accommodations for those with difficulties queuing, you seem to repeatedly ignore that adequate capacity would mean targeting an average wait of 20 - 30 minutes per attraction. 20 minutes was the threshold that FastPass used to promise. Yes, it might be more if you only want to hit the few things with the longest lines in a short window, but that is a unique edge case and not how most people visit.
You’re at your local grocery store on a decently busy day. There are lines starting to form at the registers. Which is the better solution for getting more people through checkout as quickly as possible? 1) Opening the additional registers that are closed or 2) Closing a register or two and switching half or more of those that are open to an “Express” lane that you either have to reserve in advance or pay extra to use?
It's timely you mentioned 2 rides per hour. I dug out Buzz Price's "Walt's Revolution" just this afternoon and there is a section about capacity analysis.
"If the on-site design day peak crowd is 10,000 and 30 minute average wait time is tolerable, then 20,000 units per hour (2.0 unites per hour per guest on-site) must be supplied. If a longer 45-minute wait is acceptable, then 13,333 units per hour (1.3 units per guest on-site) are required. In general, ride parks settle for 2.0 units per person. Theme parks, offering longer, more heavily themed and highly produced attractions, try to provide a capacity minimum of 1.3 rides per person per hour. This is a major issue in park development."
Since I was revisiting, he also talks about the need to build for a 90th percentile day. Which is the average of the top 15-top 20 days. 10% of days should be overcrowded, the other 90% of days there should be more capacity than needed.
What he doesn't talk about is 150, 200, 240 minute waits because as a numbers guy, if operations were telling him that was what was happening I am positive he would have some choice words. So who feels like the parks are only overcrowded 10% of the time?
People don't like lines, obviously. But line skips change the demand for the attraction. Many more people also obviously want to ride if they don't have to wait long for it. You can't force 20K people through an attraction that can only serve 15K, and you shouldn't make it worse by introducing a system where now 25K want to do it because now they don't have to wait. Musical chairs, as I say. What they should be doing is thinking differently about how people can physically queue, but while still having to wait it out. They tried it a little with Dumbo, Universal tried it a little with Jimmy Fallon but both don't *need* it.
Switchbacks should die. Standing person to person, one right after the other, should die. But they could experiment with something like the color-coded tickets in Jimmy Fallon where you are in an open room, with seats and activities and when your color is called, you move forward. It could even be app based. Bathrooms could be available, special snacks you could pre-order and consume at a table inside the queue, access to merchandise that can be sent to your room, or picked up when you exit the attraction. Character M&G, musical entertainment, something like the Ollivanders experience, those photo filters, app games, pin trading location. The price, however, is space. Maybe something where instead of it being a restaurant like at DLR's Pirates, or Mexico you are sort of in the attraction, able to experience the atmosphere and music. More attractions would probably have to be vertical, one or even 2 floor for queuing, and more for the attraction. Which will make buildings even more expensive. FOP sort of does this, but it's still switchbacks and lines. They kind off got it on Smuggler's Run. Everyone wants to take their picture in the Falcon but they don't give you enough time before you're boarded into your cabin. Give people more time for stuff like this, make stuff like this. It doesn't have to be every ride, but your signature experiences where the lines will be longest.
